Solving the Conflicts in Intermodal Freight Hub Location Decisions

In the movement of freight across the supply chain, intermodal hubs play an important role as points of transfer between different modes. Hub location is one of the most crucial success factors bearing directly and indirectly on the main stakeholders involved including policy makers, investors, hub operators, freight operators, and the local community affected. There have been several attempts to develop models to evaluate the optimum location of hubs. However, those models tend to maximize hub owners’ and users’ benefits. Only a few attempts have been made to include community impacts. There is a need to deal with the individual perception and strategic behavior of each stakeholder, including the behaviour and objectives of the impacted community living close to potential hub sites. The paper focuses on the development of a model to solve the conflicts in intermodal freight hub location decisions. The model will be developed, based upon the most appropriate multi-objective evaluation techniques derived from the findings of the research investigation, with other supporting established modules including land use allocation and transport network models; financial viability; hub user cost; and environmental and traffic impact modules. The developed model is expected to be a comprehensive tool for assisting decision makers in selecting the optimum hub locations that satisfy the often conflicting needs of the major players.